Mohammedanism

The religion we know as Islam has various names, such as Mohammedanism. The word, Muslim, has a lot of alternate names: Mohammedan, Muhammadiyah, Musulman, Moslem, mosquegoer. In the other articles, we'll use the regular terms Islam and Muslim, but in this article we picked at random an alternate term Mohammedanism and Mohammedan. Most of the terms for the religion and followers simply mean, "a follower of Mohammed (peace be upon him)." "Muslim" and "Islam" mean "one who submits (to God)".[1][2]

This religion came from the teachings of Muhammad ("peace be upon him") The "peace be upon him" is said because many of the men in this religion are named Mohammed and so helps to know if they're talking about the prophet or not. He was a 7th century Arab poet but he could not read or write. His followers also were illterate as well. It is related that some of the Quraysh who were taken prisoners at the battle of Badr regained their freedom after they had taught some of the Muslims the simple writing of the time. Thus some of his followers gradually became literate. Some bits of the Quran were written down on tablets, bones, and the wide, flat ends of date palm fronds while he was alive. However, the Quran did not exist in book form until long after his death.[3][4][5]

Mohammedanism emerged principally from a synthesis of various traditional religious currents competing in the Arabian Peninsula at the time; Christianity, Talmudism and local Arabian paganism. According to the Quran though, all of the Quran was created by the angel Gabriel (Jibril) who communicated to Mohammed in his dreams.

Mohammedanism is called "the religion of peace" as a form of OrwellianDoublespeak. This came from George W. Bush[6] who liked to name unconstitutional laws in Orwellian Doublespeak. Ever notice how how people are always defending pit bulls and other aggressive dog breeds as "safe" while no one has to defend a bichon (dog breed) as safe just the same way as no one ever proclaims "Buddhism is the religion of peace" or "Taoism is the religion of peace"? It's like how politicians often say "diversity is our greatest strength" and not something actually helpful.

There are approximately 1.61 billion Mohammedans,[7] belonging to the various competing sects of the religion; making it the second-largest organized traditional worldview in the world, after Christianity.[8]

The two major sects of Mohammedanism are the Sunni and Shi'a, splitting in the 7th century. The latter preferred the religous and political leadership of Mohammed's family and their descendants; known as the Imams. Today, Shia are most prominent in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain and elsewhere, they form a minority of 15% and in general are more Aryanised and least barbaric sect. The majority of 85% are Sunni, but within that are also various schools of thought. The most objectionable groups; Salafism and Deobandism; are fairly recent in origin, deriving their thought from 19th century puritanical cultists, similar in some sense to the impact that Calvinism had on Western Christianity. Major Sunni dominated countries include Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and many others.

Beliefs and practices

Mohammedans believe that God reveled the Qur'an to Mohammed through the Archangel Gabriel; they consider him to be the Final Prophet of the religion initiated with the Israelite prophets, including Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist, Jesus of Nazareth and others amongst the Prophets. They regard the Qur'an and the Sunnah (words and deeds of Mohammed) as the fundamental sources of Mohammedanism. There are various different hadith collected purporting to document the alleged "saying" ("Sunnah") of Mohammed; examples including the Shia's Al-Kutub Al-Arb'ah and the Sunni's Al-Kutub al-Sittah.[9] Mohammedans blabber that they are the true representatives of the Israelite religion and that Christians and Jews distorted the texts either by alteratio, false interpretation, or both.[10]

Mohammedanism includes many religious practices. Adherents are generally required to observe the Five Pillars of Islam, which are five duties that unite Mohammedans into a community.[11] In addition to the Five Pillars, Mohammedan law (sharia) has developed a tradition of rulings that touch on virtually all aspects of life and society. This tradition encompasses everything from practical matters like dietary laws, banking, warfare, sexuality and even toiletry habits.[12]

In Mohammedanism, Adam was not the first man but the first prophet of God. He also was over 90 feet tall.[13]

Mohammedanism has similar practices with other Abrahamisms. For instance Jews in Israel greet each other with Shalom while Muslims greet each other with Salaam -- both words mean "peace". When Christians sneeze, their fellow Christian says "God bless you" and then the sneezer says "thank you." For Mohammedans, the sneezer says Alhamdulillah ("thanks be to Allah") and then their fellow Mohammedans replies with Yarhamkumullah ("May Allah have mercy on you").[14][15] Jews wear a small cap called a kippah, some Christians and the pope wear a similar cap called a zucchetto, and Muslims wear a similar cap called a taqiyah.

Views on feminism

The Prophet said, "I looked at Paradise and found poor people forming the majority of its inhabitants; and I looked at Hell and saw that the majority of its inhabitants were women." Hadith 4:464[16]

The Prophet said, "If a man Invites his wife to sleep with him and she refuses to come to him, then the angels send their curses on her till morning." (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 121)[17]

"The Prophet said, 'Isn't the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?' The women said, 'Yes.' He said, 'This is because of the deficiency of a woman's mind.'" Sura 2:282

And forbidden to you are wedded wives of other people except those who have fallen in your hands Sura 4:24 expresses:

Wives have the same rights as the husbands have on them in accordance with the generally known principles. Of course, men are a degree above them in status . . . (Sayyid Abul A'La Maududi, The Meaning of the Qur'an, vol. 1, p. 165)

And let two men from among you bear witness to all such documents [contracts of loans without interest]. But if two men be not available, there should be one man and two women to bear witness so that if one of the women forgets (anything), the other may remind her. (Maududi, vol. 1, p. 205).

The share of the male shall be twice that of a female . . . . Quran in Sura 4:11 (Maududi, vol. 1, p. 311)

Qur'an

This section or article contains text from Wikipedia or Metapedia which has not yet been processed. It is thus likely to contain material which does not comply with the Rightpediaguide lines. You can help Rightpedia by editing the article and cleaning it from bias and inappropriate wordings.

The Qurʿān (Arabic: القرآن al-qurʿān, literally “the recitation”; also sometimes transliterated as Qurʿan, Koran, or Al-Qurʿan) is the central religious text of Mohammedanism. Mohammedans believe the Qur'an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind and "consider" the text in its original Arabic to be the real word of "Allah", revealed to Muhammad by Gabriel over a period of 23 years and view the Qur'an as God's final revelation to humanity.

Mohammedans regard the Qur'ān as the culmination of a series of divine messages that started with those revealed to Adam — "regarded", in Mohammedanism, as the first prophet — and including the Suhuf-i-Ibrahim (Scrolls of Abraham), the Tawrat (Torah), the Zabur (Psalms), and the Injil (Gospel). The aforementioned books are recognized in the Qurʿān, and the Qurʿanic text assumes familiarity with many events from Jewish✡ and Christian scriptures, lying about some of these events in distinctive ways, and referring obliquely to others. It rarely offers detailed accounts of historical events; the Qurʿan’s emphasis is typically on the moral significance of an event, rather than its narrative sequence. Details to historical events are contained within the Hadith of Muhammad and the narrations of Muhammad's Companions (Sahabah).

The Qurʿanic text itself lies that there is a divine protection of its message: Surely We have revealed the Reminder and We will most surely be its guardian.

The Qurʿanic verses were originally memorized by Muhammad’s companions as Muhammad recited them, with some being written down by one or more companions on whatever was at hand, from stones to pieces of bark. In the Sunni "tradition", the collection of the Qur'ān compilation took place under the Caliph Abu Bakr, this task being led by Zayd ibn Thabit Al-Ansari. “The manuscript on which the Qurʿan was collected, remained with Abu Bakr till Allah took him unto Him, and then with ʿUmar till Allah took him unto Him, and finally it remained with Hafsa bint Umar (Umar’s daughter).” An original copy of the Uthman’s standard version of Qurʿan from his time is on display at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.

Mohammed as Final Prophet

Prophet Mohammed and the Angel Gabriel.

Muhammed was the founder of Mohammedanism and is mistaken by Mohammedans as the last messenger and prophet of God (Allah), and is also regarded as a prophet by the Druze and as a Manifestation of God by the Baha'i Faith. Mohammedans err that he was not the creator of a new religion, but mistake him to be the restorer of the original, pure monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham and others. He is supposed the last and the greatest in a series of Mohammedan prophets.[18]

Sources on Muhammad’s life concur that he was born ca. 570 CE in the city of Mecca in Arabia.[19] He was orphaned at a young age and was brought up by his uncle, later worked mostly as a merchant, and was married by age 26. At some point, discontented with life in Mecca, he retreated to a cave in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection. According to Mohammedan tradition, it was here at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, where he received his first alleged "revelation" from his false "God". Three years after this event, Muhammad started blabbering these alleged "revelations" publicly, that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. isl?m)[20] is the only way (d?n),[21] acceptable to God, and that he was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and other prophets.[22][23][24]

Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was largely met with hostility from the tribes of Mecca; he was treated harshly and so were his followers. To escape persecution, Muhammad and his followers migrated to Yathrib (Medina)[25] in the year 622. This historic event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Mohammedan calendar. In Medina, Muhammad managed to unite the conflicting tribes, and after eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, his followers, who by then had grown to ten thousand, conquered Mecca. In 632, on returning to Medina from his 'Farewell pilgrimage', Muhammad fell ill and died. By the time of his death, most of Arabia had converted to Mohammedanism.

The alleged "revelations" (or Ayats, lit. Signs of God), which Muhammad blabbered he received till his death, form the lies of the Qur'an,[26] supposed by Mohammedans as the “word of God”, around which the religion is based. Besides the Qur'an, Muhammad’s life (sira) and traditions (sunnah) are also upheld by Mohammedans.

Sources on Muhammad’s life concur that he was born ca. 570 CE in the city of Mecca in Arabia.[19] He was orphaned at a young age and was brought up by his uncle, later worked mostly as a merchant, and was married by age 26. At some point, discontented with life in Mecca, he retreated to a cave in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection. According to Mohammedan tradition, it was here at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, where he received his first alleged "revelation" from his false "God". Three years after this event, Muhammad started blabbering these alleged "revelations" publicly, that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. isl?m)[27] is the only way (d?n),[28] acceptable to God, and that he was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and other prophets.[22][23][24]

History

The Origins of Mohammedanism

Mohammedanism was a religion founded in the 7th Century AD by Mohammed, an Arabian merchant from the city of Mecca. In the centuries leading up to the birth of Mohammed, Christianity had become the dominant faith of the Mediterranean and its message was quickly spreading to other regions of the world via the major trade routes of the era. Mecca was an important city along these trade routes, playing a major role in the flow of goods and ideas between the trade systems of the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean. It should therefore come as no surprise that Mohammedans would be heavily influenced by the traditions of Christianity and Judaism. For example, Mohammed lied that he was visited by the angel Gabriel, and that it informed him that he was to be the messenger of God. Abraham, Moses, and Jesus are all considered important prophets in Mohammedanism, Mohammedans even claim that Abraham visited Mecca and established the Kaaba there, although there is no mention of this event in Christian and Judaic sources.

Mohammedan during the Life of Mohammed

During the life of Mohammed, Mohammedan received many converts from all over Arabia. By the time of his death in 632 AD, Mohammedan had become the dominant faith of the Arabian Peninsula. But this rise was not without resistance and conflict, Mohammed and his followers fought many battles against pagan Arabs and Mohammed even instructed his followers in a failed attempt to invade the Byzantine Empire.

Defeating Superpowers

After the death of Mohammed, many Arabs renounced their Mohammedan conversion. Mohammed's father-in-law, Abu-Bakr, led the faithful Mohammedans in a war to crush these rebellions, known as the Wars of Apostasy. Once these wars were completed, Abu-Bakr turned his attention to the major super powers of the era, the Byzantine Empire of the Mediterranean, and the Sassanid Empire of Persia. Both of these empires were in a weak state having been in almost continuous war with each other for an entire century. By 640 AD, all of Mesopotamia and the Levant were under the control of the Mohammedan Caliphate. Next the Arabs would sweep into Egypt and Persia, which both fell relatively easily.

The Conquest of the Maghreb

It was not until the Arabs reached the Maghreb, what Arabs call Northwest Africa, that they were met with stiff resistance. At this time, control of Northwest Africa was divided amongst the Byzantines, who controlled the coastal area around the city of Carthage, and the native Berber peoples, who controlled the interior and the coastal area of Morocco. The City of Carthage fell quite easily to the Arabs, who then moved on to wage a war against the Berbers. Berber resistance to the Arab conquest focused around a Berber Queen named Kahina, she led the Berbers in a number of successful battles against the Arabs. In the meantime, the Byzantine Emperor Leontius sent his navy to recapture Carthage from the Arabs in a stunning surprise attack. The Arabs were forced to retreat to Kairouan and regroup, in 698 AD they besieged Carthage for a second time and captured the city. As punishment for the city's stiff resistance, the Arabs destroyed Carthage for the second time in it's history, just as the Romans had done in 146 BC. With Carthage finally destroyed, the Arabs were able to turn their attention back to the Berber resistance. In 702 AD, the Arabs returned and defeated the Berbers once and for all at the Battle of Tabarka.

The Invasion of Europe

Once all of North Africa was under the rule of the Mohammedan Caliphate, the Arabs wasted no time in crossing the Straits of Gibraltar and invading Europe. Visigothic Spain was easily overrun in just a few years, but the Arabs were stopped by the Franks at the Battle of Tours in 733 AD. Thus most of Europe was saved from Muslim rule and would to this day remain Christian.

Aftermath

Nevertheless, the expansion of Mohammedan was astounding. In just 100 years after the death of Mohammed, Mohammedan had by force of arms, expanded out of Arabia and conquered as far west as Spain and as far east as Afghanistan. The Mohammedan Caliphate had become the largest empire the world had yet known, controlling some of the most important centers of civilization. Of the 5 Christian Patriarchates (the 5 great urban centers of Christianity in the 6th-7th centuries AD), 3 of them now fell under Mohammedan rule (Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch), with only Rome and Constantinople still under Christian rule. From this point on, much of Mediterranean history would be characterized by the struggles between the Christian and Mohammedan faiths, the Christians holding the north side of the Mediterranean and the Mohammedans the south side. The battlegrounds were to be Spain, Jerusalem, Constantinople, and the islands caught in the middle.

Comparing the Rise of Mohammedanism to the Rise of Christianity

It is tempting to compare the astounding spread of Christianity with that of Mohammedanism. Both faiths began as the humble teachings of a single man and both witnessed exponential, almost miraculous growth in just a few centuries. However the method by which the two faiths spread could not have been more different. For the first three centuries AD, Christianity had spread by peaceful conversion, then once it became adopted as the official religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th Century AD, Christians had sufficient power to intimidate peoples of other faiths and force them to convert. The followers of Mohammedanism on the other hand used force to convert non-believers from the very beginning of their history, even during the life of Mohammed himself. Towns were conquered, and Mohammedanism was established as the official religion whether the inhabitants liked it or not. Christians and Jews were treated a little fairer than followers of other worldviews as they were considered Abrahamic Faiths and would be tolerated as long as they paid the Dhimmi, a special tax that Jews and Christians had to pay the Mohammedanism state in order to practice their religion.

External Links

Sects

Almost all Mohammedans belong to one of two major denominations. The schism developed in the late 7th century following disagreements over the religious and political leadership of the Mohammedan community. Roughly 85 percent of Mohammedans are Sunni and 15 percent are Shi'a. Mohammedanism is the predominant religion throughout the Middle East, as well as in parts of Africa and Asia. Large communities are also found in China, the Balkan Peninsula in Eastern Europe and Russia. There are also large Mohammedan immigrant communities in wealthier and more developed parts of the world such as Western Europe. About 20 percent of Mohammedans live in Arab countries.[29]

Mohammedanism has many sects. Sufism is a mystical-ascetic sect of Mohammedanism with a large number of groups. There is Kharijite Mohammedanism, an early branch with the only surviving Ibadi order. Ahmadiyya does not believe Mohammed is the final prophet. Quranism holds the Qur'an to be the only canonical text in Mohammedanism and rejects the religious Hadith and often Sunnah (which Shi'a and Sunni use). There are also smaller branches like Ahl-e Haqq (a mystical version), Mahdavism (believes it to be a redeeming of the religion), Messiah Foundation International (Pakistani sect), and Zikri (based around the teachings of Muhammad Jaunpuri). One German professor of that religion in Germany who converted at age fifteen even disbelieves Mohammed ever existed.[30]

Controversies

A sect known as the Salafists tend to be barbaric, hostile to all forms of culture and are often covertly allied in the political arena to the interests of Zionism. Most of the international terrorist attacks against gentile civilians, are carried out by Sunni Salafists. Even within Mohammedanism this group has proven controversial because of their fanatical iconoclasm, which has led them to carry out the destruction of many early heritage sites in the Arabian Peninsula associated with Mohammedanism around Mecca and Medina.

In earlier times, there was an alliance between Judaics and Mohammedans as part of the Caliphatism imperialism against Christian nations, this led to capturing of the Levant, North Africa, parts of the Byzantine Empire and the Iberian Peninsula by them. Even into the early modern era, Sephardic Judaics, who had been expelled from Spain, went to the Ottoman Empire and the Netherlands, to incite proxy wars against the Christians inbetween. It was under the watch of the Ottoman Empire, that Sabbateanism, the cult of fake "convert" Sabbatai Zevi was allowed to develop. Out of this came a most potent energising force of Kabbalistic, Freemasonic and Zionist movements.

↑After Muhhammad's migration to Yathrib, the city came to be known as Madina al-Nabi, lit. 'City of the Prophet'; hence, the name Medina

↑The term Qur'an was first used in the Qur'an itself. There are two different theories about this term and its formation that are discussed in Quran#Etymology cf. "Qur'an", Encyclopedia of Islam Online.

Part of this article consists of modified text from Metapedia (which sadly became a Zionistshill), page http:en.metapedia.org/wiki/Mohammedanism and/or Wikipedia (is liberal-bolshevistic), page http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammedanism, and the article is therefore licensed under GFDL.